What’s going on around the Terres de l’Ebre – in English
Today, 21 December, Catalans vote for a new government in the Catalan elections. This follows the Catalan declaration of independence on 27 October which was quickly quashed by Spain’s prime minister Mariano Rajoy. He sacked the Catalan government, using a section of the Spanish constitution called Article 155, and called fresh elections. Several of Catalunya’s…
A general strike is planned for Wednesday 8 November in Catalunya following the imprisonment of several ex-ministers of the Catalan government and two leaders of pro-independence organisations. The Assemblea Nacional Catalana, whose chairman Jordi Sanchez is currently in prison, is calling for a national ’stoppage’ (‘aturada’) on Wednesday 8 November. Catalunya’s fifth-largest union, Intersindical-CSC, is…
The leaders of two Catalan independence organisations were jailed on Monday evening by a Spanish high court judge. Jordi Sanchez, chairman of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) and Jordi Cuixart, chairman of Omnium Cultural, are being investigated for sedition. They are said to be the leaders of protests on 20 and 21 September which aimed…
The Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, proclaimed independence for Catalunya yesterday, but immediately suspended it, calling for dialogue with Madrid first. Puigdemont gave a statement to the Catalan parliament on the evening of Tuesday 11 October. An independence referendum was held on 1 October at which 2.2m Catalans voted and the result was 90 per cent…
Town halls will be shut and health centres will operate minimum services on Tuesday 3 October as Catalunya’s people hold a general strike following the referendum yesterday. The strike has been called by La Taula per la Democracia, a coalition of unions, co-operatives, pro-independence organisations and other civil society bodies. It is in protest against…
The Diada nacional de Catalunya, or Catalan national day, is a public holiday. It’s usually marked by demonstrations by the independence movement, plus community events, such as giant paellas. Information about events in El Perelló here and L’Ampolla here. Check what’s on near to you at your local tourist office – see our list of…
The leaders of Catalunya and Spain are at loggerheads after the Catalan parliament passed a law to hold an independence referendum earlier this week. After a long, tense day in the Catalan parliament, the separatist parties eventually pushed through the bill at 11.30pm on Wednesday 6 September. As the vote was called, the members of the…
Catalunya will hold a referendum on independence from Spain on Sunday 1 October. After months of discussions, Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, announced the independence referendum date today. He added that the question voters will be asked will be: “Do you want Catalunya to be an independent country in the form of a republic?” “It is…
A Spanish judge has ordered Badalona council to shut its offices today, quashing the Catalan city’s plans to ignore the Spanish holiday. On 10 October, Badalona council stated that its offices would be open on 12 October, the Fiesta Nacional de España. The council offered its staff the opportunity to work voluntarily on 12 October, in exchange for a…
Hundreds of thousands of Catalans took to the streets on 11 September 2016, Catalunya Day, to demand independence from Spain. For the first time this year, the pro-independence rallies took place across five cities in Catalunya – Tarragona, Lleida, Salt, Berga and Barcelona – rather than being concentrated in the Catalan capital as they have for…
‘A punt’ (‘We’re ready’) will be the message that pro-independence Catalans send to the rest of the world on Sunday 11 September, the national day of Catalunya. Demonstrations will be held in five different cities across Catalunya: Barcelona, Tarragona, Lleida, Berga and Salt. According to the latest figures, 300,00 people have so far signed up to…
Catalunya – at last – has a new president. Carles Puigdemont was sworn in (pictured above) as the 130th president of Catalunya on Sunday 10 January after more than three months of deadlock. In his first speech, Mr Puigdemont said his mission would make Catalan sovereignty possible. He said: ‘We are drowning and we are humiliated…
